uglies
by Minikui
Summary: { Nature, at least, didn't need an operation to be beautiful. It just was. } In a world where individuals are dumbed down and made 'pretty' by societal norms and surgeries called 'the surge', one young man is pressed for a decision. Betray a load of new f
1. The Start of the Finish

Please review this, I would love feedback!

Disclaimer ; I don't own Scott Westerfield, the Uglies series, or Vocaloid.

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_Nature, at least, didn't need an operation to be beautiful. It just was._

"You heard about the Loidla Area?" A blond was kicking his legs back and forth, interface ring taken off under the pretense of going to sleep. The room was 'asleep', unable to spy on their conversation.

"Loidla Area? No, what about it?" Another blond looked confused, blue eyes squinted even moreso than normal. Scratching a slightly squashed nose with bitten on fingernails, the boy tugged out his ponytail, letting locks fall to his shoulders.

"The Loidla Area houses the infamous UTAUs. No one has caught them yet, surprisingly, because the Loidla Area is supposedly unfindable, unless you're an Ugly."

"Come on, Oliver, that's just an urban legend here in Uglyville. There's no such things as the UTAUs. It's just made up by Crumblies to scare Littlies into behaving when they're Uglies."

Oliver huffed, golden eyes turned onto his friend. "Leeee~n! They are not! And I'll prove it!"

"How are you going to prove it?" Len challenged, shoving him playfully after chewing a toothbrush pill and swallowing the remains. "Find the Loidla Area? Bring back an UTAU?" He turned towards his golden eyed friend, who's one milky yellow eye stared with its dead self at him. Len frowned lightly, flicking his friend's forehead.

"Owie!" Oliver rubbed the mark gently, pouting. "You'll see. I'll leave behind a way to get there, too! And you can join me, as well!" Leaving the room with a soft good night, Oliver snuck back to his room with his interface ring in hand.

"Loidla Area… The UTAU… Heh, Oliver's gotten wrapped up in children's stories again." Curling up under the blanket, Len was restless. Rin… They had made that pact, huh? Frowning, he stuffed a heater that produced enough warmth as a Len-sized human underneath the blanket, punching the pillows to look a certain way before donning his expedition clothes - an all black outfit and a hat to hide his blond hair.

Pulling on the fishing line carefully, down by the river leading over to New Pretty Town, Len tugged it upward slowly and surely until a wet knot could be felt - the rope. Tying it to the usual tree, he carefully scaled it, thankfully getting to where he needed to be and hopping over onto the ancient stone bridge's ground before a skipper came by - uncaught, was Len, by sheer luck.

The New Pretties on the skipper were laughing, having a good time. The tiniest of looks, however, revealed none of them to be Rin. Slowly sneaking over the bridge, Len began hiding in bushes, crawling through the pleasure gardens in order to use the cover of darkness.

He had learned the trick to unscrambling the seemingly random numbers at the bottom of pings - of course, from the only ping Rin ever sent since becoming a New Pretty. She was staying at the Crypton Mansion, which was currently having a huge gala that night. Noticing a mask that he could use to somewhat disguise himself, he glanced at the face. A bird.

Mentally sighing, Len put it on his face, feeling the smart plastic flex against him and mold to his countenance. Joining a bunch of dancers, the hidden boy danced his way towards Crypton Mansion. After entering the doors, a girl in a champagne colored dress stopped him.

"Ooh, look at 'im, wearin' a mask! I thought this party was white tie~!" Her friend and her burst into a fit of giggles. Their hypnotic, large eyes were so innocent, so pretty… Len hated having to wait three more months before he could become a New Pretty like them.

Ignoring the bird jokes, which were becoming increasingly thin, he spotted her. A pure, angel feather white dress, with dark, smokey makeup to accentuate her already newly beautiful features… Rin.

Managing to capture her in an elevator, all alone, when she told the elevator to close the doors and hold, he tore the bird mask off.

**"Len?"**

_"Rin…"_

"You're still playing tricks?" That tell-tale smirk appeared, but it wasn't imperfectly crooked like it used to be. Instead, it was perfect, straight, her new pearly white teeth shining. Len felt embarrassed to give her a small smile, but he did anyway, his mouth imperfectly crooked, teeth slightly yellow from years of eating.

"Of course. This was the biggest of them all."

Rin giggled, taking her old friend's muddy hands. "That's pretty bubbly, Len-wa!"

Len was a bit confused by the terminology of bubbly and the addition of -wa to his first name, but he figured it was New Pretty speak that he'd soon be in on. In three more months…

"You think so?" He was going to assume bubbly was a good thing. "I just wanted to see you. Remember…?" Holding up his pinky finger, the scar still remained. After looking away out of embarrassment, Rin held up her hand.

_The scar was gone._

"They grafted all new skin onto my body, Len-wa. No more scar."

"They couldn't have removed your blood, either… Do you remember that?" Len was pleading, grasping at a straw.

"Of course not, you dork." She laughed, smiling like a kind Middle Pretty down to their Littlie, once again making Len feel inferior without realising it. "I'm sure the Pretty Committee wouldn't allow it!"

"Up or down?"

"Hold, please." Rin replied to the elevator, which complied with the request.

"You need to get back to Uglyville, Len."

"I know. Let me just…" Looking down at the mask, Len only just realised that letting go of it was a mistake. It was already in recyclable dust, and was currently being cleaned up by the smart-carpet in the elevator floor.

"Dork. Up, please."

"Yes." The elevator confirmed her request.

"Rin, there's nothing up there! I'm going to eventually be caught!"

"No you won't. Get a bungee jacket and jump. Be bubbly, Len-wa!" Rin giggled that beautiful New Pretty giggle, tilting her head. Len hugged her tightly, before apologising considerably for getting her white dress muddy.

"It's fine! Just go!" She shooed him off, taking the elevator downstairs. Len ran towards the rooftops, noticing the jackets. Huffing when they said 'in case of fire', he had no choice but to press the button. Tugging on a jacket, the nervous fifteen year old leapt with faith. The crash bracelets on his wrists from the jacket would protect him, right?

**_Yep._**

His shoulders felt nearly wrenched from the sockets as he bounced and somersaulted in midair, finally coming to a stop near the end of the pleasure gardens. Almost home free… Managing to sneak across the river, back into the Uglyville dorms, and up into his bed, he moved the heater, shut it off, changed underneath the covers, and went to sleep.

_Rin… Was so hauntingly beautiful now…_  
**Would he be just as pretty in three months?**

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R&amp;R, please!


	2. A Difficult Choice

This took a while to write, so I hope you enjoy!

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_Is it possible to succeed without any act of betrayal?_

Three months seemed to pass like no time, with days spent learning in the school, hoverboarding with Oliver, and various tricks split between him and his friend. Then came the day. His and Oliver's shared birthday…

_The surge._  
_It was __**today**__._

Grinning brightly upon realisation once he woke, the interface ring, upon putting it on, greeted him and wished him a 'happy surgeday'. Not birthday, 'surgeday'.

Even technology knew some emotion.

Biting into a toothbrush pill, the boy slipped into a comfortable tee and pair of jeans, lacing up his sneakers. After going down to the room where he was to meet a person from the International Committee for Morphological Standards (or, the Pretty Committee). Instead, Len vaguely noticed Oliver wasn't there.

Unless Oliver got another member of the Pretty Committee instead. Oh well.

"Hello, Mister Len Kagamine."

A woman with long, beautiful teal hair braided into a large bun atop her head stood, very cruel and sharp in her looks, but beyond pretty. She was much more than just the average Middle Pretty. There was no hint of the light crow's feet, no hint of light wrinkles given. Instead, she was sharp edged and cruel looking.

Those glittering teal eyes seemed to follow him, bright and sharp in their glances. In New Pretty lingo, it was totally 'nervous-making'.

"I assume you have questions, yes?"

Len nodded softly, dubbing her a Cruel Pretty in his mind. The woman smiled, her teeth sharp and pure white. Before he could even ask something, the woman cut him off.

"My name is Doctor Miku Hatsune. I'm part of the International Committee for Morphological Standards, or, as you would call them, the Pretty Committee. I'm part of a special division, however. That, my friend, is top secret. We need you to do us a favor." The woman waved her hand for him to sit, and Len obeyed, slightly fearful.

This wasn't what he knew. A member of the Pretty Committee was to answer _his_ questions, and take him for the surge. This wasn't right.

"You know Mister Oliver Helling? Your friend?"

Len nodded, before parting his lips. "Did he do something…?"

"He went to find the UTAUs." Len's jaw dropped. So he really did leave… To find them…

"But - Those were just things our parents told us as Littlies…"

"No, my dear. They are very much real. In fact, we've been trying to retrieve them. But we can't find the Loidla Area. And that's where you come in, dear." Her thin fingers slid a delicate necklace toward him.

"What's this…?" Len stared at it numbly, feeling shame at not believing Oliver when he first told him about the Loidla Area.

"You can put it on, dear. It's got a tracking device inside. Once you open that locket, we'll know exactly where the Loidla Area is, and we can retrieve them."

After a moment, he leapt from his chair. Outrage flooded his system. Betray his only friend left? Rin didn't seem to really care for an Ugly anymore, and Oliver was all he had. Len was alone otherwise. "Why me!? Why do you want me to betray my friend!?"

"We have an ultimatum for you… One I know you'll never refuse."

Len stopped, staring incredulously at her.

"Either find the Loidla Area and open the locket, or you'll stay an Ugly forever. We've been waiting for someone like you to come along, Len."

A soft, almost choking noise came from him. Be forced to be ugly forever? No surgery…? Or betray his friend and countless other runaway Uglies?

After a moment of internal debate, the boy put the locket around his neck. "... I'll do it."

"We thought so." She smiled cruelly, placing a bag on the table. "We'll give you this survival kit once you're ready to leave. Pack some clothes in a bad. I believe Oliver left instructions for you?"

"Alright..." Len felt horrible for his selfish choice. But it was this, or be forced to remain an ugly forever. Surely Oliver would understand? Perhaps, perhaps not. Len left the room, going up to his. Noticing the paper on his desk, he folded it up and put it into his bag. Going back down, he was led to the hoverpad, given a state of the art hoverboard.

"This is for travel. There isn't a tracking chip on it, as the UTAU will probably suspect you if you have one. Good luck, Len Kagamine. And remember; we've been waiting for a boy like you." Len blinked, nodding. Carefully, he tied his pack of survival gear and his lack of clothes into various ends of the hoverboard, weighing it down evenly before climbing on.

Len started to fly off after placing crash bracelets around his wrists. The magnetic grid was hard to find once he got outside the city range, but he found it pretty easily in the river - who would've thought that natural deposits of magnetic material were in that body of water?

When it began to get darker, the boy landed, deciding to eat something. Opening the survival pack, he couldn't help but marvel at the fact that Doctor Hatsune had given him a water purifier and dehydrated food cooker in one, and packs of dehydrated food to last him a good two months. On top of that, there was minor medical supplies and a bottle to place purified water inside. Everything was solar powered, making it even more amazing.

Letting the water purifier power up, the boy perused the dehydrated foods. What should he eat… Spaghetti bolognese or chicken over rice? Mumbling softly, he decided to just go with spaghetti bolognese. Getting water from the river, he placed it into the purifier. Waiting a few minutes, soon his food went in with it, according to instructions. Weird, how a powder could make a meal.

Sure enough, in fifteen minutes, the smell of a deliciously cooked meal was coming from the machine. Opening the lid, he grabbed the fork provided with the food, beginning to eat. Little did he realise how starving he was, having not eaten since two days ago - thanks to his belief in the fact that he was getting the surge.

Deciding there was no harm in making one more packet, he cleaned out the machine, added more water, and then threw in the chicken over rice. It took an even shorter time to make, and soon he was downing a second meal. Saving the rest of the packets for his journey, he placed the empty packets in his bag, washing off the fork and the device in the river.

Purifying some water, that was poured into his bottle, Len made a miniature camp in the shade near the water, curled up in his sleeping bag. Everything was… Beautiful. Prettier than New Pretty Town. Was the Loidla Area and the UTAU really that alluring?

**Len would just find out for himself.**

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Please R&amp;R!


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